UK's largest inland surf resort under construction

An artist's impression of how the final resort will look

The UK's largest inland surfing resort is under construction near Edinburgh Airport.

The Lost Shore Surf Resort is scheduled to open in September 2024 and operators Wavegarden have released new images of how it will look.

The company said the wave pool, near the village of Ratho, will be three times the size of the Wembley Stadium pitch.

It said the resort would be larger than others in Europe and have a beachfront that would span 250 metres.

The resort is being built on a former quarry site

The operators are turning the former Craigpark Quarry pit into a huge lake with a machine recreating waves for any level of surfer.

The site lies across from the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena.

Wavegarden has resorts in Bristol and Snowdonia in Wales, that it said attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

According to the company, Scotland's resort will have a state-of-the-art surf pool, lodges, a food market, a restaurant and a spa.

Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, called the resort a real game-changer for Scottish tourism.

He said: "Not only will this attract people from all over the UK but from right across the world."

Wavegarden said its technology would ensure "very little visual and auditory effect on the surrounding environment", so it would not disturb local residents.

It said the technology was capable of producing up to 1,000 waves per hour.

Scottish professional surfer Ben Lar said the resort could push up the level of Scottish surfing and bring many more people to the sport.

He said: "Who knows, maybe we will get some Scots in the Team GB squad for the Olympics.

“It can be really difficult to access surfing in Scotland sometimes, but this is going to deliver reliable waves all the time.

"If I had access to this sort of facility when I was young, I would be such a better surfer now."